Roads Not Taken…Or Not Yet

Welcome to the seventh installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed here. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

This month’s topic comes to us from CrazyKinux himself, and he asks: “What 3 things haven’t you done in EVE and why? Would you be willing to try one day? Why so? Why not?”

. . .

Erbo Evans, speaking mainly for myself on this one. (I will encourage Selena and others to post as well.)

Oh, I’m absolutely certain that there are more than three things I haven’t done in EVE; however, I am limited by the call to discussing three of them. So I’ll do a quick overview:

#1: Done serious operations in 0.0 space. Mainly, I just don’t know enough to keep myself safe in those circumstances. I need more skills, more practice at fitting, and more knowledge of strategies and tactics for staying alive in a land where you can be ganked in a split second, for any reason or none, and with no possible source of recourse or even sympathy. Now, I’ve visited 0.0 space, briefly; I documented my flight into N-RAEL in the Great Wildlands, and my narrow escape while busting a gatecamp on the way back into Empire. I now have better ships for such a task, chiefly the Helios covert ops frigate Amaranth. Then, too, we’re near Providence where we are right now, and CVA, who holds that region, is well-known for its liberal policy in letting people fly there as long as they don’t stir up trouble. And, of course, wormhole space is 0.0 by definition. So this will probably happen at some point, as the rewards are certainly commensurate with the risks; just give it time.

#2: Taken up a career in piracy. Surprising, for the number of EVE blogs I follow written by pirates! (I rationalize that the same way I rationalize reading 2600 magazine; it’s useful to know what the “black hats” are thinking.) As nice as some of those folks sound when they write, I have no doubt that, if I were to run across them while they were on a roam, they would slag my ship without a second thought, if they could. My main defense, therefore, is to be somewhere else. 🙂 The reason I wouldn’t try my hand at yarrin’ is the same as the reason I haven’t done it, aside from the whole “inexperience” issue; I know how upset I’d get if some SOB whacked a ship I’d spent a ton of ISK on to get fitted and working the way I wanted it, and I’m unwilling to inflict that kind of hurt on somebody else. What would it take for me to overcome that barrier? I’d probably have to be faced with a greater threat, like that one can-tipping bastard we took on in Aderkan. (We didn’t blow him up, but we made him turn tail and run.)

#3: Gotten involved in CSM politics. There have been, I think, two CSM elections now since I joined EVE. I didn’t vote in either of them, because I knew nothing about the candidates or the issues involved, and was too busy trying to understand the world I was now in to be concerned with such things. The third election is soon to be upon us, and I really need to make the effort to at least vote this time around. Apparently the CSM has done great things for EVE, and I’d like to keep a closer eye on what they do. And, one day, might you see Erbo declare his own candidacy for the Council? Stranger things have happened…and I’ve been described as a “natural politician” by some people. If it happens, though, it’s likely to be years from now. If I do, though, I’m likely to use the Ralpha Dogs’ tagline as part of my campaign:

“Wrought in deepest Hell, our vengeance is freedom!”

. . .

Other articles published from around the EVE Blogosphere (links will be updated here as new posts are added):

11 Responses to “Roads Not Taken…Or Not Yet”

Nice post. I’m glad I’ve finally started to pay attention to blog banter. If I hadn’t I wouldn’t have found your blog.

Oh yes, us pirates would take your ship away from you in lowsec without a second thought. I know people do take it extremely personally but I for one am not out to ruin people’s days. When you jump into lowsec CONCORD warn you about the risk you’re taking. The game is for me to hunt you and you to evade me. Its no fun when people don’t have any fight in them. Usually in these cases we try and educate the pilot as to where they went wrong and hope they’ll come back one day with a PvP fit.

You have good points, Wensley. I’ve had to travel into lowsec for a number of reasons (including that one time when Selena accidentally ordered a whole bunch of pyerite from a station three jumps into lowsec…we’re talking three trips even with Yellow Brick Road, and, no, I am sure as hell not taking the Holopainen into lowsec). When I do, I don’t play stupid. I “prepare the trail” beforehand, marking safespots. I fly with an escort if possible. I fly in at odd hours, when traffic is light. I don’t dilly-dally around; I do what I have to and then I GTFO. So far, it’s worked; I haven’t lost a ship in lowsec yet. But I know a pirate won’t give me a second chance; it’s up to me to ensure that I have at least one.